N-(4-Eth­oxy­phen­yl)-3-oxobutanamide

The title compound, C(12)H(15)NO(3), crystallizes with Z′ = 2 in space group Pca2(1) with the two independent mol­ecules having almost the same conformation, differing mostly at the end of the butanamide chain. A local inversion center near 1/8, 3/4, z relates the two mol­ecules, as is common for structures in this space group with Z′ = 2. The mol­ecule crystallizes as the keto tautomer, and the β-diketone moieties are twisted out of planarity, with O—C⋯C—O pseudo torsion angles of −74.4 (5) and −83.9 (5)°. The N—H group of each independent mol­ecule donates an inter­molecular hydrogen bond to an amide carbonyl oxygen atom by positive or negative translations along the b axis, thus forming anti­parallel chains propagating in the [010] direction. [Image: see text]